Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 11 /Trend A.Badalova/
The major Ras Lanuf oil refinery in Libya may be restarted by the end of March, Energy Intelligence Group reported with the reference to Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) Chairman Nuri Berruien.
"With both the Es Sider and Brega oil terminals back on line, the next major challenge surrounds readying the 220,000 b/d Ras Lanuf refinery for a restart, possibly by end-March," Berruien told International Oil Daily.
In December Reuters reported with the reference to a senior source that NOC delayed plans to restart its refinery at Ras Lanuf by at least a month, as the plant remains cut off from a steady supply of crude for processing.
Ras Lanuf can process up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and accounts for well over half of the country's total oil refining capacity. The refinery is fed by a mix of grades from Libya's Sarir and Mesla fields, which are operated by Benghazi-based Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco).
Berruien said that work entails both getting the plant itself in working order after the damage it sustained in fighting last year, as well as the fields that supply it, which await the delivery and installation of a new transformer.